NEOPLAN 

Russia's national football team travelling by NEOPLAN Cityliner

MAN Truck & Bus Russia is the official bus supplier to the Russian national football team, which recently acquired a new team member: a NEOPLAN Cityliner. The state-of-the-art bus transports the country's top football stars safely and comfortably to their home and away games.

The Russian national football team and their new team bus: a superbly equipped NEOPLAN Cityliner.

  • MAN Truck & Bus RUS LLC wins one of the most prestigious orders on the Russian bus market
  • Superbly equipped NEOPLAN Cityliner handed over to the national football team in Novogorsk on September 3rd
  • A strong message: “Our guys” communications campaign for the national team graphically depicted on bus

The Russian national team and their new bus, a NEOPLAN Cityliner, recently completed their first major venture together - and emerged victorious. In September, the bus transported the stars to Sheremetyevo international airport and accompanied them to Glasgow, where they won their Euro 2020 qualifier 2-1 against Scotland.

Shortly before, at a ceremony in Novogorsk near Moscow, Peter Andersson, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Russia, Nikita Simonyan, First Vice President of the Russian Football Union, and the Adviser to President RFU and former player Aleksey Smertin had handed over the symbolic vehicle key. Also present at the official handover was the Russian team's head coach Stanislav Cherchesov. “A team bus is always quite important for athletes. MAN buses mean comfort, safety and reliability,” comments Alexander Alaev, General Secretary of the Football Union of Russia, explaining why the NEOPLAN Cityliner was chosen. “We are delighted that the Russian national team is entering into the new international season with a team bus from MAN Truck & Bus. And we of course hope that it will bring the team good luck,” Peter Andersson adds.

A real eye-catcher

The state-of-the-art team bus is truly striking even from a distance. The exterior panels are adorned with a huge image featuring five top Russian footballers. The design is part of the team's “Our guys” communications campaign. And the NEOPLAN Cityliner has lots to offer on the inside, too. The 460 horsepower engine ensures high performance, while transporting the players to their international matches in complete safety. The Euro 6 engine also comes with the highly user-friendly MAN TipMatic 12-speed automated transmission. It can be operated fully automatically or manually via a paddle on the steering wheel, meaning the driver can stay fully focused on the road at all times. The integrated MAN EasyStart moving-off aid is also a great help to the driver.

A wide range of assistance systems on-board the NEOPLAN Cityliner ensure the safety of the team. Among them are the electronic stability program ESP, traction control (ASR), emergency brake assist EBA, and the lane guard system LGS - all in all, the ideal safety package for its tours around Europe. And there will be plenty of those on the cards as the qualifying stages of the Euro 2020 European football championships progress. Lots of extras have been installed in the vehicle to ensure that the players arrive not just safely, but also in a relaxed frame of mind. A panoramic glass roof extending from the driver's seat over the entire length of the bus lets plenty of light into the interior and creates a feeling of space. And the infrared-reflecting windscreen, combined with a powerful heating and air conditioning system, ensures the optimum climate at all times of year.

The on-board galley kitchen is also superbly well equipped. It features cold and hot water tanks, an automatic drinks machine providing coffee and other hot beverages, as well as two large fridges. The feel-good ambience is further enhanced by a state-of-the-art multimedia system for the driver and passengers. The system is voice controlled, and includes a large screen and a navigation system for the driver. Two wide-screen monitors are also installed in the interior.

The key features of the passenger cabin, however, are its exceptionally comfortable seats. The Deluxxo seats, with their special upholstery, leather headrests, side frames and footrests, ensure that the players are relaxed and rested even after a lengthy journey. The generous spacing between the seats is a further comfort enhancement. This was achieved by fitting the 12.24 metre long NEOPLAN Cityliner with 44 seats rather than the standard 49. “The team bus is a place where the players can recuperate and recharge their batteries, especially on away fixtures. That's why a safe, quiet ride, a spacious interior, and of course comfortable seats, are so enormously important,” emphasises Jan Aichinger, Head of Product Marketing Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

Popular with sports professionals and top clubs

The Russian national team is one of many that rely on MAN Truck & Bus for their transportation - enabling them to arrive at their games fit and ready to perform at the optimum level. This spring, for example, the German national team took delivery of a MAN Lion's Coach. And many top teams all over Europe also use MAN Truck & Bus - including Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica Lisbon and Young Boys Bern. “But it's not only footballers that rely on our safe and comfortable buses; handball, basketball and ice-hockey teams also travel in them to their home and away games,” Jan Aichinger concludes.

Peter Andersson, Managing Director of MAN Truck & Bus Russia, Nikita Simonyan, First Vice President of the Russian Football Union, Aleksey Smertin, the Adviser to RFU President and former football player and Pavel Selev, Commercial Manager of MAN Truck & Bus Russia had handed over the symbolic vehicle key (from right to left).
The Russian national football team and their new team bus: a superbly equipped NEOPLAN Cityliner.